Memory
by Vacni
Summary: Neville was hailed as The boy who lived that fateful night and Harry was sent to live with the Dursley's because he is a parselmouth. Harry is ignored in this war torn world until discovering a book that restores his memories of a past life, as one of the founders.
1. Prologue

**Prologue **

When You Know Who failed to kill Neville Longbottom, he was hailed as The Boy Who Lived and the war between the dark and light came to a standstill, neither side was really safe, both wary of the other so I ended up living with my Aunt and Uncle, 'for protection'. That's what they told themselves. In reality they didn't want me; I was a _freak,_ a Parselmouth, something dark, something that no light family could bear to have. I came to Hogwarts not even knowing my own name, I was invisible there, unlike at my aunt and uncle's. Everyone was too busy fanning over The Boy Who Lived. I am now in my Fifth year here and I only have 3 friends, one of whom is Ron Weasley who has gotten into trouble for a book he had in his possession, and is now in detention.

Which is why I am here now, pacing the seventh floor corridor, impatiently waiting for the door to open for me. I was told about the room of Hidden things by a Seventh Year, a place that I could hide my copy of the book. Finally the door appeared and I opened it to find myself in a huge room. Every item that you could imagine were staked together to create a birds nest, but it felt like every item in this room belonged.

I wandered down the aisles looking for a place to hide my book among the cloaks and fanged Frisbees and other items. My eyes were drawn to a stack of books that were sitting on an antique table that could have been worth a small fortune; I started towards the books until I could see the titles of them, _The secrets of the Hidden Arts, Blood Magic,_ _The Amulet on Amaradh. _Placing my book next to the pile, I picked up _The Amulet of Amaradh _before dusting of the cover and opening it to the first page. There was a rune on the page, one that we haven't covered in Ancient Runes. I traced the rune and I could feel the steady hum of the magic inside it, I finished tracing it with my finger when the magic peaked, I could feel it as it surged up my arm and into my heart, before I knew no more.

When I came to, memories came flooding back to me, of another life, one that I had lived over 1,000 years ago, when I was known as SALAZAR SYLTHERIN.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

I laughed at my misfortune; in this life too I had no family.

_Mother had asked me to get some ingredients for a potion that she was brewing so I had gone into the forest to get some herbs. As I neared the village I could hear screaming, a pain filled cry that was unmistakably my mother's. I dropped the basket and ran the rest of the way to the village, where a large crowd was gathered in the town centre. I pushed my way through the crowd to see what they were looking at and I heard someone say "She got what she deserved." I turned around to see what he was looking at, the pyre was lit and all that remained that I could see through the flames was a charred copse, around the neck I could see my mother's necklace. I realised then that these muggles had murdered my mother because she was a witch. _

_I let out a rage filled cry, as the wind picked up, it was whipping my black hair all over the place but I took no notice. I was consumed with grief; I had just lost my only family. The villages then started to notice me and they cowered in fear as my magic took control. _

I was 8 at the time, and it was the first time that I took a life. I always despised muggles after that even after I meet Godric, Rowena and Helga. Now I have more memories to add to why I despise muggles, the memories of my muggle relatives. Looking around, I pick up the _The Amulet on Amaradh _and put it in my bag before standing up and brushing the dust from my robes, making note that I had to find time to go to Diagon Alley to buy some decent clothes.

Before exiting the Room of Hidden Things, I check that no one is outside in the corridor, as Godric and I used to do when we were avoiding Rowena and Helga. Laughing at the memory of when Rowena and Helga followed us to try and discover where we disappeared to on occasion, I make my way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Rowena and Helga had followed us up to the seventh floor, and even with Rowena's renounced intelligence they had lost us and so were pressing parts of the wall opposite us, searching for our hidden room. We stepped out to stand behind them and Godric cleared his voice before saying "What may I ask are you ladies doing?" They had been so surprised that Rowena almost fell down the staircase.

The Great Hall was filling up quickly when I arrived and as I walked by the Slytherin table, I sneered, as I looked at them; the majority of these people were not true Slytherins. I did not and never will believe in the superiority that the pure-bloods believe in, I myself am a half-blood in this life and my past one. I may despise muggles but there is nothing wrong with their magical offspring, the muggle-borns. In fact some of the most powerful witches and wizards that I have meet are muggle-born or half-bloods, Rowena and I are a prime example of this.

Moving on towards the Gryffindor table, I spotted Ron, Hermione and Ginny, my only friends and made my way through the mass of students towards the end of the table. If only Godric could see me now, a Gryffindor, he would get a kick out of that, but I had wanted to be accepted and Hagrid had told me of Slytherin's reputation. As I slipped onto the seat next to Ron, Hermione hissed at me "Where have you been?"

"Later," I respond, before reaching for a piece of toast. Further down the table is Neville Longbottom and his gang, they are talking loudly about the quidditch match on this morning between Gryiffindor and Slytherin. Ron's voice interrupts me from my thoughts "We have to win this match against Slytherin by 220 points to have a chance at the cup"

"Yes ok," I reply, continuing to eat my toast and scrambled eggs

"What's up with you, mate?" Ron asks "its quidditch!"

"I've just got other things on my mind," I tell him.

"Well a game of quidditch is just what you need to get those things off your mind." Ron announces "Come on we want to get good seats don't we." The four off us finish our breakfast before making our way down to the quidditch pitch. Hermione is giving me side long looks as we walk across the grounds, I will have to be more careful in how I act if Hermione is already suspicious. I was acting too much like Salazar and Hermione has caught on to that, as Harry I would have never dismissed quidditch so easily, and it was a lapse in my judgment that I did so this morning. As although I did fly as Salazar and enjoyed it, I didn't take to quidditch quite like Godric did.

**AN: **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter **

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	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

There was a party on in the common room after Gryffindor won the match against Slytherin, I could see my 'twin brother' over with Neville Longbottom , hanging on to his every word as he described in detail how he had performed a partially dangerous stunt to score a goal in the match today. It reminded me of how in first year Neville and two of his friends including my 'brother' had gone after the Philosopher's stone, they were trying to stop who they thought was Professor Snape from stealing it, when in reality it was Quirrell, who was trying to steal it. From what I heard Dumbledore saved them and then duelled Quirrell, before Quirrell collapsed when Voldemort left is body and fled.

I didn't know that I had a 'brother' until I came to Hogwarts; the Dursley's had told me that my family had died in a car crash; that they had been drunk and I was the only survivor. The truth, I learnt in my third year was that the Potter's had given me to the Dursley's because they found out that I was a parselmouth and of course they couldn't have a family member that was Dark living with them. I suppose I should have given more thought into my ability to speak parseltongue as the Potter's have no relation to the Slytherin line, and parseltongue only appears in those of Slytherin blood.

I had discovered my ability to speak parseltongue quite early on; I just assumed it was another of those unexplainable things that happened to me and until my second year when I mentioned it to Hermione, didn't give it much thought. At the time I only knew Hermione though our little study sessions that we had together in the library but we became close after she explained what I was doing was an ability called Parseltongue and it was believed to be a Dark gift. There are right of course but it still hurt me to know that people would turn on me because of this gift and it hurt me even more when I found out that it was because of this that my family had given me away. The same thing happened to me as Salazar, I was shunned by many within the magical community because of it and even more so because of the Dark Arts that I practised.

Later that night after the party had died down and everyone had gone to bed; I snuck out and headed towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. I entered the bathroom after making sure that Myrtle was not inside and whispered "_Open up_" and the tap started to spin before the sink sank into the ground leaving the pipe exposed. Another whisper of "_Stairs" _and stairs appeared winding down the pipe. When I reached the bottom I raised my wand and with a muttered 'Lumos,' the tip lit up and I started walking though the damp, dark tunnel. I could see the small animal bones that littered the floor that I remembered from coming down here in my second year.

After walking for what seemed like hours I came across the solid wall that had the two entwined serpents with emeralds for eyes, carved onto the wall. Again I hissed '_Open' _to the snakes and they parted as the wall opened and I stepped inside. I walked down the chamber past the serpentine pillars, and towards the statue at the end of the chamber where the basilisk, Syalia my mind provided, had come out of the statue's mouth. Looking at the statue now I wondered how I had ever thought that was a statue of me, it looked nothing like me and was a statue of my grandfather.

Syalia's body was wrapped around the statue and looking at her caused me sadness. I had raised her as a hatchling and she was meant to be another protection for the school, the history books had got it wrong, the other founders knew of this chamber and of Syalia. I had brought them down here on more than one occasion. Instead Syalia was used to attack students of this school, ordered by my heir who believed he was continuing my 'noble' work. He almost killed Ginny in her first year and would of succussed if Ron and I hadn't come to rescue her; I had had to kill Syalia with my own sword that I pulled out of the sorting hat. Pulling my sword out of the hat was another clue to who I was and only now am I understanding this.

My heir is another issue; during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament the cup was a portkey and when Neville took hold of it he was taken to a graveyard where his blood was used in a ritual that returned Voldemort to his full power, if Neville's account is accurate. The Ministry believes that it is just a plot of Dumbledore's to become Minister and is painting Neville as a liar and has placed Umbridge at Hogwarts this year to interfere with the running of Hogwarts.

Walking past Syalia's body to the end of the chamber, I take a deep breath before letting out a faint, low hiss of '_Open' _and standing back when the wall melts away to allow me entrance into my personal library. I could feel the wards hum and come back to life as I stepped into the room, they must have faded over time after I had died. The room was filled with books, stacked neatly on bookshelves in order of topics; it would be almost as big as the Hogwarts library and held many books that were the only copy in the world.

Thankfully the preservation charms that I had placed on the room had held unlike the wards, as many of these books were priceless. After reinforcing the wards to my library so that only I could enter, unless I brought someone else in, I exited my library and the wall reappeared behind me. I would have to check the rest of my possessions and that meant a trip up to the headmaster's office to collect my sword.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As I finished climbing the stairs and came out into the bathroom, I came face to face with Hermione. She had her arms crossed and her lips were pursed in a line. Quickly I closed the entrance to my Chamber and turned back to face her, "Ah… Hermione what are you doing here?" I struggled to kept my voice controlled, it felt exactly like when Rowena had caught me doing something that I didn't want anyone else to know about, she always seemed to know.

"I followed you, I thought you had been acting odd all day, so when I saw you come down into the common room and exit through the portrait hole, I followed you." I frowned I had checked to make sure that no one was following me, no one had been able to follow me when I was Salazar, if I didn't want them to. "Anyway that's not the point, the point what are you doing sneaking down to the Chamber of Secrets in the middle of the night?" She asks.

"That's not really any of your business, so can you please let me pass so that I can go to bed." I brush past her and start to walk towards the exit to the bathroom.

"Yes it is my business, I'm worried about you. You have been acting differently ever since you disappeared yesterday morning. So you're not going anywhere until you tell me what you were doing down there and what happened yesterday morning." She steps in front of me as she says this.

"Can't we do this at another time?" I ask "I would like to get to bed"

"No."

I sighed, she had noticed something much quicker than I had anticipated, maybe I should just tell her, she would figure something out eventually. Would she believe me though, if they weren't my memories, I would have had a hard time believing myself. I decide to tell her "make yourself comfortable, this might be a little difficult to believe."

"As long as you finally tell me what's going on and why I find you sneaking around in the middle of the night to go to the Chamber of Secrets." She replies

"It started when I disappeared yesterday morning before breakfast…"

"I thought so." She interrupts

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" I ask exasperated

"Right sorry, please continue,"

"As I was saying, yesterday morning, I went to hide a book in the room of Hidden Things; you know the one that Ron got in trouble for," I started to recount what had happened yesterday. Hermione opens her mouth to interrupt me again but I glare at her and she closes her mouth again. "I found a book in the room of Hidden Things, and I opened it to find a rune that I had never seen before. I blacked out after I touched it and when I woke up I remembered a past life that I lived over a thousand years ago."

"Really," Hermione gasps, this was surprisingly easier than I thought to make her believe me. Here comes the hard part though, a test to see how much of a friend she really is, explaining that the past life that I lived was that of Salazar Slytherin.

"That's not all; in my past life I was called Salazar Slytherin." I turn away from her as I say this, almost afraid of her reaction.

"Harry, I think that we need to visit Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggests quietly "You're obviously not feeling well."

I spin around to face her, suddenly angry "I'm not crazy, if you don't believe me that's fine but don't patronise me!" As I say this I head toward the door. If I had looked back I would have seen the hurt expression on her face.

Her inability to believe me had hurt more than I cared to admit, so I found myself at the top of the astrometry tower, this is where I had always come if I needed time. It is funny how in both lives I found comfort in the breathtaking beauty of the night sky and the quietness of it. I had come here after every disagreement with Godric and when I found out the truth about my 'family.'

When I had calmed down enough, I realised that I would just have to prove to Hermione that what I said was the truth, but that was the hard part, proving to her that what I said was real. I pushed these thoughts to the side for now and instead focused on what I was planning to do because I met Hermione outside my chamber, recovering my sword from the Sorting Hat within Dumbledore's office.

I schooled my features back into my mask of indifference as I walked down the astrometry tower stairs. As I walked through the corridors, I cast a disillusionment charm so that if I met any teachers, they wouldn't be able to see me. When I reached the gargoyle, I looked him sternly in the eye and told him "You know who I am, let me pass." The gargoyle slowly moved to the side to reveal the staircase beyond. I made my way up the stairs and couldn't help remembering that this tower used to contain Rowena's library.

I reached the door leading to the entrance of Dumbledore's office and after a quick sweep of my magic to ensure that no one was inside, I opened the door. The office was crowded with delicate silver instruments that were buzzing and whistling softly, the portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses were snoring quietly as I entered Dumbledore's office. My eyes immediately sort out the sorting hat that was hidden away on the top most shelf, surrounded by a number of books on both sides.

I moved towards the shelves and reached up to grab the sorting hat from the shelf and placed it on my head. "So back again I see, Mr Potter, or should I say Lord Slytherin,"


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

"You knew all along," I cry, outraged "Why did you not mention it to me in the TWO times we have talked?"

"It was not my place to tell you," replied the Sorting Hat

"Wait, but you did, at least indirectly, you told me that I could be great and that Slytherin would help me on the way to greatness," I say remembering back to my sorting. "Is that why you wanted to put me in Slytherin, because I am the original Slytherin."

"Slytherin house represents those of cunning and ambition and it would have helped you on the way to greatness," the Hat replied.

"Have you ever given anyone a straight answer Hat?" I inquire

"Have you ever spoken anything but a half-truth?" answers the Hat,

I sigh, I had never liked the Hat but it was Godric's idea and Rowena and Helga had agreed with him. "Will you at least give me my sword back?" I ask.

I pulled the hat off my head before reaching inside and grasping the gleaming silver sword that appeared inside it. I pulled my sword out of the hat; it looked the same as it had when I had gotten it made. The handle was littered with emeralds and there was a small snake engraved on the hilt, the words SALAZAR SLYTHERIN were also engraved on the side in neat letters.

I reach inside the hat again and pull out the sheath for my sword before sheathing it and strapping it to my belt underneath my robes. Looking up, I notice that Fawkes is staring at me. I catch the meaning behind the stare; Dumbledore is on his way to his office.

Nodding to Fawkes in thanks, I disillusion myself and exit Dumbledore's office just as he enters from his quarters. I didn't trust Dumbledore, what after finding out that it was his idea to send me to the Dursley's when my family discovered I was a parselmouth, he was the reason that I had grown up not knowing who I was, he and my 'family.'

I would never forgive them for what they did and so do not consider them my family. My dream of a family was ruined in my third year when I had found out that they had abandoned me on the advice of Dumbledore.

There was such prejudice against the unknown, as was there in Salazar's time and unfortunately anything that is unknown was labeled Dark or Forbidden. The Light side has been in power for too long and they have forgotten that there needs to be a balance between the Dark and Light. By suppressing the Dark they have created chaos in the world and those more magically sensitive have showed symptoms, such as the insanity my Heir has shown.

As I entered the common room through the portrait hole I could hear the Fat Lady grumbling about late night wanderings. I ignore her as I head up the stairs towards the Fifth Year dormitories; I enter the room quietly careful not to wake anyone and am assaulted with Ron's snoring, how anyone sleeps through that is beyond me.

After making my way across the sea of clothes and other items strewn over the floor, I draw the curtains around my bed and place a silencing charm over it. As I had done many times before, due to the nightmares that I suffered from. Shrugging off my outer robe, I unhook my sword from my belt and place it in my trunk with the rest of my clothes before locking it again with the parseltongue password.

I lay on my bed, awake for some time after that thinking back to the disagreement with Godric that caused me to leave Hogwarts, my home.

"_Why can't you just stop using it?" Godric yells at me _

"_It's not as simple as that," I reply, exasperated "You know that I am a Dark wizard and I have no control over that, much the same as you having no control over being a Light wizard."_

"_It doesn't mean that you have to use Dark magic!" he shoots back at me,_

_I could feel my self-control slowly slipping, it was becoming harder to maintain my mask, "Dark wizards are not evil! You know that. Dark magic relies on emotions which is why it is normally stronger than Light magic, which does not make it evil." _

"_Yeah, well what about the Unforgivables,"_

_Godric had gone too far and I snapped "As you well know, 'Avada Kedavra' is Neutral magic, meant to end suffering for sick patients and while I may admit that the Cruciatus Curse is Dark magic the Imperius Curse is certainly Light Magic." _

I had stormed out after that, he knew that Dark Magic was not evil; he was just blinded by the fury and hate he held for another Dark Lord that had arisen and killed his wife and like much of the wizarding world he turned to hatred for all things Dark. The Light believed that the Dark Magic had corrupted this Dark Lord but they were wrong, it was the power that had corrupted him. I was a perfect example of how Dark Magic did not corrupt; after all I was a Dark Lord.

After Godric had lost his wife, we didn't see eye to eye on this issue. I couldn't live with the constant arguments and disapproving looks from the person that I considered a brother to me. So I left Hogwarts, and secluded myself from civilisation in my private cottage that I had built as a means of isolation for others. It was in that cottage that I first met my wife; she had been running from some villagers that had discovered she was a witch and had stumbled across my cottage. She was like me; a half-blood whose magical parent had been killed by Muggles, her mother had been killed when she was 3 and so she had little control of her magic.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

Upon entering the Great Hall the next morning, I was assaulted with the noise that filled the Hall. I flinched as my headache intensified, today was going to be a long day. As I sit down in the seat that Ron had saved for me, I notice the looks that Hermione is giving me, I was right it will be a long day.

"Are you alright, mate?" Ron asks "You look a little pale,"

"I'm fine," I reply "Just a headache." I curse myself for making it so obvious,

"Maybe you should go to the Hospital Wing to get a headache potion," Ginny chimes in as she sits down next to me

I close my eyes as the air is filled with screeches as owls arrive with the morning post, "I think I will," I announce. Hermione, I notice is still looking at me, I didn't really want to talk to her after she had hurt me last night but I knew that, that wasn't going to be an option. There was something about the way that she was looking at me though, that was familiar; her chin resting on her hand, head tilted slightly and chewing lightly on her bottom lip.

Shaking those thoughts out of me head as I stand up from the table and say "I'll meet you in Defence," before striding out of the Great Hall and making my way towards the hospital wing. I stopped short in the middle of the hallway as I suddenly remembered why Hermione's look was so familiar to me, I resumed walking to the hospital wing, my steps lighter with this new knowledge.

I met Ron and Hermione outside the Defence classroom, "feeling better," Ron asks me,

"Much," I reply

"We need to talk," Hermione tells me

I turn to look at her as I reply, "Yes we do." She seems surprised that I have agreed with her and it takes her a moment to respond, no doubt she thought that I would argue or refuse to talk to her, before she can I say anything, I say, "Room of requirement, 8 o'clock."

She nods just as the door opens to the Defence room and we file in, taking a seat near the back, I notice that Neville and his gang, including my 'brother' Daniel, have again taken the seats near the front. I don't know why they insist on seating in the front when Umbridge isn't even teaching us anything and what with the way she hands out detentions to Neville.

The clicking of heels symbolises Umbridge's entrance into the classroom and almost immediately she begins with "Good morning class!" and there is a chorus of "Good morning Professor Umbridge," follows. "Open your books please to chapter 5 and begin reading," she says in her sugary sweet voice, her obvious prejudice towards what she considers inferior, which just so happens to include 'The Dark,' grates on my nerves more than her voice.

Of course today's chapter is about the misconceptions that the wizarding world has about the dark. About the creatures that the ministry calls dark to be more accurate '_The werewolf is considered a very dangerous creature due to their animalistic mindset…they should be put down to avoid them from hurting witches or wizards…' _ It has become almost impossible to kept my fury from showing, the absolute ignorance that this book and by extension the Ministry, is showing is utterly mind blowing.

They are portraying werewolves as creatures with subhuman intelligence; it is no wonder why so many dark creatures are joining my heir when this is how they are treated by the light. It is people like Umbridge that utterly believe in their superiority, that I despise and in some ways I agree with my heir that the wizarding world needs to change. If he weren't so prejudice as well I would have thought about helping him reform the wizarding world.

A large sign had been posted on the Gryffindor noticeboard when Hermione, Ron and I returned to the Common room after Dinner.

_**Educational Degree Number Twenty-Four **_

_**All student organisations, societies, teams, groups and clubs are henceforth disbanded.**_

I didn't bother to read anymore, my fury at Umbridge had gained new heights, her new power as the Hogwarts High Inquisitor, it was the Ministry's way of trying to control what happens in Hogwarts, had gone to her head. She stuttered around the school like she owned it, I had reached my limit, this was my school and she had no right to come into my school and demand changes, she would get what was coming for her, that was for sure. I would see to that.

"Does that mean that there's no more Quidditch," Ron's voice cuts into my thoughts, of course that would be his first thought.

"Don't be silly, it just means that the teams will have to seek permission from Umbridge!" says Hermione

"Oh,"

The silence that follows is broken by Dean Thomas, another Gryffindor in our year, asking if Ron wanted to play a game of chess with him, why anyone would want to play chess against Ron I can only guess but it gave Hermione and me the chance we needed to talk.

The walk up to the Room of requirement was made in silence, neither of us wishing to start off the conversation. Hermione had seemed to have gotten over her bout of silence and immediately upon entering had launched into an abundance of questions. "Whoa! One at a time Hermione," I say "But, before you go on, will you let me explain?"

Hermione nods so I continue "last night you caught me coming out of the Chamber of Secrets, where I tried to explain to you what was going on…" Hermione opens her month and I raise my hand to tell her to let me finish. "You didn't believe me and before I had a chance to explain how I knew, you told me that I should see Madam Pomfrey."

"You must admit that what you said is a bit hard to believe," she says

"Yes, it is," I reply "but you didn't let me explain!"

"Well I'm listening now"

"Ok" I say and reach into my bag and pull out _The Amulet of Amaradh_ "this is the book that I found the rune in," I tell her and open the book to the page that the rune was on. Looking at it again, I now know that the rune means reveal in the magic of Merlin's time, the Old Religion.

Hermione seems drawn to the rune, "I've never seem a rune like this!" she says and starts to run her finger on the outline of the rune.

"Wait! Just let me explain something." I exclaim but it's too late, Hermione had already lost consciousness.


End file.
